Bad days are just the worst. Lucky enough for me I have this guy to keep me going.  I love you daddio.

SNOW!!!!

 It finally snowed.  I have this weird love for snow. Nothing brings me more peace than a white sky during a snow storm.  Walking outside with my Christmas music on shuffle, in my puffy coat, with my favorite snow boots brings me so much happiness.  This storm came at the perfect time. I needed something to lift my spirits and motivate me to work hard in the next couple weeks.  Snow provided that.  It probably sounds super lame -my attachment to snow- but I appreciate the beauty of it so much.  The way it purifies and brightens the world. It truly is stunning.  I think there could be snow year round, and I would be perfectly fine with it.

Well I'm going to be cliche and list the things I am grateful for in honor of turkey day..... if you are one of those people who can't stand gratitude posts, please politely skip over this one and have a wonderful day!
-My family
-My friends
-Seasons
-Christmas music
-Pumpkin ice cream
-Books
-Snow
-Dance parties by myself
-Dance parties with friends
-Bubble baths
-Handwritten letters
-Cloudy days
-Education (BYU particularly)
-My minky made by my lovely grandmother
-People who lift me up
-Pictures
-Nail polish to keep me from biting my nails
-Nerds like myself
-Netflix
-All the necessities of life
-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
-Holidays
-Leggings
-Diet Coke
-Music
-Missionaries
-Life
To those who don't like gratitude posts, I'm going back on what I said at the top.  Life is wonderful and we have so much to be grateful for.  Embrace it! You'll be surprised at just how blessed you are.

This is Hazel my niece.  She is the best thing about living in Provo.  I love her so much. She knows lots of tricks, she is super smart, and my favorite person to play with.  I LOVE HER!!!

Just some snaps to brighten your day! These really are gems...... and I look great blonde, right?

      College has taught me a lot of things.  I've learned statistics, how to live with lots of different people, to function on 4 hours of sleep...and lots more of course.  But the main thing college has taught me is to live in the now.  We are all in different circumstances.  Some better than others.  The fact that you are reading this tells me that you are better off than about 88% of the world (only 22% have computer access).
   
      As humans- specifically Americans- we tend to identify ourselves by our occupation, salary, living conditions.... in other words circumstance.  We often think less of those who are not as well off as ourselves.  You may be thinking "I don't do that."  Well, consider this.  Say a man is introduced to me as a doctor.  Without even speaking I can quickly identify him as rich, charismatic, successful, smart.  Seeing these attributes I draw the conclusion that he is probably a very very happy man. I assume this, largely because I know the common circumstances of successful doctors, they are typically "well off". And I associate their circumstances with their level of happiness, ultimately letting their circumstance define them. I would venture to say that I am not alone in this observation. The link between circumstance and happiness can lead to "the grass is always greener" attitude, an attitude that in beginning college, I found quite common within myself.  I told myself that college was too hard and if I could just get thought the semester then I could be happy.  I found myself constantly comparing my life to others.  "She is so happy and married! If I can just hold on until I get married, then I will be happy"  or "he just finished college, if I can just get through college, then I will be happy."  When these thoughts come to mind now, I must remind myself that these people are at their middle, and I'm at my beginning, and if I compare my beginning to their middle, then no matter where I am in life, I won't ever be happy.  If you always expect happiness in changing your circumstance then you will never find it. Happiness comes from accepting and understanding why God has put you where you are.

   

Life is hard.  And we all have difficulties in our individual situations.  If you aren't delivered from your difficulties, then figure out what you can learn from them and be grateful.  Be grateful for where you are and what you have, because you may never have these opportunities again.  If you don't know why you are in your circumstance, then you better figure it out.  Because no one can do your circumstance better than you.

 When you get discouraged with your life, realize that it won't always be possible to change your situation right away, because that isn't how God works. Realize instead that a change in your attitude may be what he needs from you.  And although it may seem scary, just remember that God put you in your present circumstance.  So you are obviously the best he has for it. 

So here we go..... post #1.  I've decided to dedicate this post to all the things I love about college.  Because I really do love it. A lot.
1. People are always feeding you.  Ward activities, building gatherings, on campus events-- you name it.  There is always food.
2. My classes are done by 12 o clock PM everyday.  Awesome.
3. Professors who get you excited about the courses you are taking from them.
4. Religion courses. Book of Mormon has seriously changed my life.
5. A roommate who shares a love for N64 with you. Particularly Zelda and Super Smash Brothers. Not to mention she is just simply wonderful and I love her.
6.  Suite mates who never fight.  Most people don't get so lucky.
7. Parties every weekend!
8. As nerdy as it sounds--learning! I love learning the material in my classes.
9. Starting to understand myself better than I ever thought I could.
10.  Having my niece close by.  (I go to Paige's at least twice a week)
11. Learning to be independent.
12. Going home to visit the fam, because they obviously really miss me and rejoice every time I go to Salt Lake.
13. Nice people are everywhere.  Boys hold open doors for you, people ask you how you are doing, and everyone smiles!
14. You get to be outside all the time! I have never enjoyed fall as much as I have while attending BYU.
15. You meet tons of friends

If you can't tell yet, I love college. But it definitely has its downsides.
1.  Everyone at BYU is so above average.  I was average in High School.  So I guess that makes me below average here.
2. We get fed ALL THE TIME.  This point makes it to both my lists because there is always a downside to eating a lot.  You gain weight.  The freshmen fifteen is a real thing.
3. College is hard.  There is no B.S.ing after high school.  You have to study hard and go to class... or a bad grade is inevitable.
4.  You miss your family like crazy.
5. Everything costs money

I'm sure I could come up with more, but college makes you really tired.  So I think I'll just take a nap.